Races

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Knoxville Marathon Week 4

Monday:RESTTuesday: 7 Miles, 5 with KimI ran 2 miles on the 'mill before meeting up with her for a few miles on the Lakefront. I felt dehydrated after the 2 miles, and brought some water along for the outside portion. My water bottle froze shut in no time and I wasn't able to drink any water during our run. As soon as I stopped running (to order coffee at my local Caribou) I was overcome with a feeling of intense nausea, started shivering, and almost fainted. I had to sit in the shop for over 10 minutes to warm up and gather myself before I could think about walking a few blocks home.

Wednesday: RESTTook a rest day because of Tuesday's come to Jesus meeting. Figured it would be counter productive to attempt a hard workout after a workout that took so much out of me.Thursday: 7.5 miles. 4x1 mile repeats at 6:58-6:50Felt awesome. Could have done 1-3 more mile repeats.

Friday: 5 miles. "Hillz on the 'mill."Nothing special here. 8x Hillz for breakfast.Saturday: Easy 5Felt "off" all day Friday so decided to postpone my LR to Sunday. Had a fever Saturday night. Went to bed very early.Sunday: LONG RUN! 16 miles, 2:09. Miles 8-15 @ GMP 8:00-7:47.Was on the 'mill by 4:45 to start this run. It was slow going the first half, but once I restarted the tread after 60 minutes, the GMP went by quickly. Watched Curling the entire time and still don't have that game figured out- probably would have helped if I listened to the broadcast and not my iPod. Felt fantastic during this run despite the gym being a roasty 70 degrees for the 1st hour.

The only person who can get me to run outside when it's 0 deg. Notice Kim's eyelash/brow frost.

Thoughts:
After Tuesday's health scare I decided to not run outside anymore until the temperature is above 32. L has also told me i'm not allowed to run outside until it's warmer too. And I'm ok with that. Feeling like complete shit all day post easy 5 miler is just not worth it. The past few long runs outside left me feeling completely depleted and terrible the rest of the day. Your body works extra hard in extreme cold. I read an article that mentioned the Hanson team takes to the tread in extreme cold. So if the elites don't run outside, WHY THE HELL would I stress my body like that?

It snowed a little last night, so I'm sure the path had some slippery areas. It would be devastating to tweak a muscle or fall due to running in slippery conditions.Something preventable.

As "boring" as the 'mill is, at the end of the day my body is acclimated to warmer temps better than had I been running outside in sub freezing temps all winter. I ran the Miami Marathonin 2012, and was so used to running in 30's in Chicago, that the race was extra hard due to the humidity and high temps (and injury). The 10k I ran in Brasilwas a similar experience. It's impossible to "race" (your full potential) in much hotter temps than you're training in.

The little bear was very cute this week...

Random snow burst during the week.

CB and his "teeth"

Received the 2013 Chicago Marathon official results book in the mail yesterday. It brought back a lot of happy memories of the past 3 years of running my "local" marathon. I'm not planning on running it this year even though I have a "CQ" (Chicago Qualifying) time for guaranteed entry. 3 years was enough. I'm not running Shamrock this year either and really couldn't be happier that I'm going outside my comfort zone to explore other races and parts of the country.

At the end of the day I love running, and don't need to run races to stay motivated. I'm cutting back on the average 13 races a year I've been currently doing in favor of training well for a few solid PR attempts. I could care less about race "bling" and certainly don't need another ill fitting t-shirt. This is the year where I continue to keep running fun and go cautiously aggressive to attain some crazy goals both inside and outside of running.

8 comments:

Great week of training! I'm glad there is someone else out there who is waiting until it warms up before running outside again! I ran 5 miles one day outside last week and it was between 0 and 3 degrees and I felt awful afterwards (and during). It just isn't worth it. I just get sick of listening to people in my running club talk about how hardcore they are for running outside and how you're not a "real runner" if you're running on the "dreadmill." Ugh.

This winter has been really, really rough for outdoor running. I had a blast running outside all of last winter, but the sidewalks are too treacherous and a lot of the cold days are just too cold. I'm falling into the camp of playing it safe by avoiding running on snowy, icy sidewalks - I'd hate to injure myself like that.

I really like your last paragraph too - I think it's all too easy to fall into the same races year after year and/or sign up for every race that comes along. Quality over quantity, right?

I also enjoyed running outside last year- must have been above freezing though :) this year is just so tough. I'm at my breaking point now.

It is easy to fall into the same races just because they are there- and It's nice to move on and not feel obligated to run the same stuff anymore. Shamrock and Chicago Marathon are too notch- but eh.. Doesn't get my juices flowing as much any more :)

I ran outside last winter just fine but this winter has been terrible. I'm generally fine with the cold but it's always at a low intensity. Any sort of tempo or speed work needs to be done on the treadmill till its warmer for me.

I think the treadmill builds a lot of mental strength and that makes it hardcore. If you are running outside you have to keep going until you make it back home (in most cases) but on the treadmill you could really quit at any time but you build your mental strength by choosing to stay on!

I think as time goes on, I too am less motivated by races. I just want to get to the point where (on a consistent basis) I can go for a 5 or 10 miler and enjoy the scenery and finish uninjured. Oh, yeah and take pictures, gotta take pictures! :)

Introduction

Greetings! I'm Xaarlin, and live in Chicago with my husband and border collie dog, CB. I am an accountant by day and enjoy running, discovering new craft beers, learning Portuguese, eating/cooking delicious foods and spending time with my family when off the clock. I use this space to talk about life, running, and anything else that interests me. Mikkeller Run Club Chicago Captain. Untappd:Xaarlin